2007 Basilan Beheading Incident

The 2007 Basilan beheading incident was an armed incident that took place in July 2007 between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels and the Philippine Army. The incident led to the execution of 14 or 23 members of the Philippine Marines; amongst them 11 were beheaded in the province of Basilan, which is located within the southern Philippines.

Background

On June 10, 2007, the Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi, of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), was kidnapped in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay province. His captors were believed to be either renegade MILF members or Abu Sayyaf. "14 Marines killed in Basilan clash: MILF owns up to ambush"
by Jeoffrey Maitem, Julie Alipala, and Joel Guinto. Inquirer.net. July 11, 2007.

His captors released photographs of Bossi that showed him to be alive and well, but they failed to negotiate a solution with the Philippine government. Early operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines were concentrated on Zamboanga Sibugay, in the belief that the captors had not left the province.

Bossi survived the kidnapping, after being freed on 19th July, 2007.

Operations in Basilan

On July 10, 2007, according to MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, violence broke out at Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, a known Moro region, when Marines entered the town. Lieutenant Col. Ariel Caculitan, spokesman for the Philippine Marines, said the death toll of the Marines was 23"MILF admits attack against Marines, says 23 troops dead"
GMANews.tv. July 11, 2007. (some document say the location of the encounter was at Al-Barka a new municipality established by Islamic soldiers at Tipo-Tipo).

During the firefight, which lasted a day, at least 20 armed militants were killed, and seven others were wounded. MILF soldiers which later scoured the area after the firefight found 11 headless corpses of Marines. Aside from the beheaded remains, the MILF also recovered 27 firearms. Among the firearms recovered were six M60 machine guns, eight M203 grenade launchers, ten M-16 Armalite rifles, a 60-mm mortar, and several night vision goggles.

Brigadier General Ramiro Alivio, chief of 1st Marine Brigade, said that aside from the MILF, the guerrillas consisted of Abu Sayyaf, and other rebel groups.

However, the Philippine Army said the Abu Sayyaf were not present in the region where Bossi was captured."Rebels behead Philippine troops"
BBCNews.com. July 11, 2007. The official government death toll was 14, although Philippine newspapers says 23 soldiers were dead on the Marines' side.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front stated "the Marines entered the MILF territory in the town of Tipo-Tipo in complete disregard of the ceasefire agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Philippine government".

Reaction

Matthew Lussenhop, United States press attaché in Manila, remarked that "It's a tragic incident. The United States embassy condoles with the families of killed, and wounded soldiers although it's still not clear to us what really happened"."US condoles with kin of slain Marines in search of Bossi"
GMANews.TV. July 11, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilan Beheading Incident
2007 murders in the Philippines
21st century in Basilan
Hostage taking in the Philippines
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2007
Islamism-related beheadings
July 2007 in the Philippines
Moro conflict
Terrorist incidents in the Philippines in 2007
Mass murder in 2007
21st-century mass murder in the Philippines
Crime in Mindanao
July 2007 crimes in Asia